Almost 1000 fans were there on Sunday afternoon when the U-19 basketball team from Chemnitz beat Bremerhaven 95:78. They will play in Germany’s highest youth league next season.
Future and past shook hands on Sunday afternoon in the Chemnitz Hartmannhalle. The future of the Niners was on the floor and played against the Eisbären Bremerhaven for promotion to the highest German junior league in basketball. The past was all around. Because the Hartmannhalle was once the home of the Niners men’s team, it was rightly renamed “Hartmannhölle” during games in the 2nd Bundesliga.
And you were reminded of exactly such games when the Chemnitz U19s played on Sunday. Almost 1,000 fans came to support them in the decisive game to get into the playoffs and the associated promotion to the A division of the junior Bundesliga. Drums, antiphonal singing from grandstand to grandstand, chants – everything was like it used to be in the “Harti”.
“Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the boys didn’t find their rhythm right away at the beginning of the game,” said Niners trainer Sascha Prötzig after the game, which his protégés clearly won 95:78 in the end. “We’ve had it before that one side of the stands was quite full. But it’s never been the case that almost everything was full on both sides. That was fantastic,” said the experienced youth coach, who only started right after the final siren briefly disappeared into the dressing room to enjoy the success in peace.
His boys meanwhile made the La Ola with the fans and were rightly celebrated. After a tough start, it was 23:23 for the first quarter break, in the second ten minutes the Niners grabbed better under the basket and played with more courage on the offensive. With a 44:39 lead we went into the cabins. Led by the five players Luca Kellig, Nick Lasch, Lennart Glowka, Brendan Gregori and Felix Zacharias, who have already trained with the men’s Bundesliga team and some even got a few minutes of playing time in the BBL, the Chemnitz team kept building their lead further out. After the third quarter they were leading 74:65, and the last part of the game was one to enjoy in front of a record-breaking crowd.
“I’ve never experienced anything like it. The guys who have played for men know it. But it was new for me. And at first I was pretty nervous,” said Malte Silbermann, aged 16 second youngest player in the Chemnitz team. “Now we’re looking forward to the playoff games and then to the youth Bundesliga next season.”
In all likelihood, the playoffs will be against Alba Berlin, which could ensure that a few more fans than usual could come into the hall again. The outcome of the games is no longer decisive for promotion from Division B to Division A. It was bagged by the win against Bremerhaven. Because now the Chemnitz runners-up are in their main round group behind leaders Oldenburg and in front of the teams from Bremerhaven and Dresden. “In Division A there will be even better opponents than we are now, the boys will be challenged even more,” says coach Sascha Prötzig. “It’s very good for their development.” It is also important that the second men’s team, the Niners, is promoted from the second regional league. That’s what March 18 is all about. Maybe again in front of a full hut in “Hartmannhölle”.
StatisticsNiners: Kellig (17), Lasch (16), Glowka (16), Gregori (14), Zacharias (13), Rinner (8), Silbermann (7), Juma (2), Klobusiak (2), Kunze, Milatz
